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Mystery of Magnetic Hill Revealed!

For decades, an amazing natural phenomenon has baffled tourists who visit this southeastern New Brunswick city in Canada.

Drive to the bottom of this illusionary magnetic hill in Moncton and be prepared to be amazed. Your vehicle will roll uphill as if it is being pulled by a magnet. Though, your brain will keep telling you that this defiance of natural law is simply not possible.

Magnetic or is It Magic?

This optical illusion is created by the slight downhill slope that appears to be an uphill slope. The surrounding landscape and mountainous horizon of the hill that usually provide visual clues to the true vertical are obscured, which creates the optical illusion.

Without a level horizon, judging the slope of a surface becomes difficult as a reliable reference is missing. Objects that are normally assumed to be generally perpendicular to the ground may actually be leaning slightly…offsetting the visual reference.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. You can also find Nidhi on Google+.